Design-Driven product diversification for emerging markets opportunities

Over the last twenty years, Europe’s manufacturing sector has faced deep economic uncertainty, shaped by rising market volatility, changing consumer behaviour, and global pressures linked to the climate crisis. These dynamics risk weakening companies’ established markets and worsening organisational instability when appropriate tools for understanding and governing change are lacking. Within this challenging context, the discipline and the practice of Design can play a crucial role by helping organisations manage complexity, detect early signals of change, and foresee emerging market directions. While academic research has increasingly explored the strategic relevance of Design within organisations, its contribution to business model transformation remains underdeveloped. This study seeks to fill this gap by proposing a support framework for companies, named Design in Progress: a structured, guided approach aimed at reconfiguring niche markets and transitioning toward less competitive B2C environments, where Design is pivotal in generating meaning and value.